San Jose State's WAC title hopes likely gone

SAN JOSE -- San Jose State's hopes of winning its first Western Athletic Conference title are likely gone after Utah State beat Louisiana Tech 48-41 in overtime on Saturday afternoon.

Utah State's win in the battle of first-place teams clinched at least a share of the WAC title for the Aggies. Utah State (9-2, 5-0 WAC) can win the title outright when it faces lowly Idaho next week.

The Spartans, who face BYU on Saturday night at 7:30, needed a win by Louisiana Tech to have a realistic title shot. That would've put SJSU in position to win a share of the title by beating La Tech at home next Saturday.

SJSU now has to hope for a miracle when Idaho travels to Logan, Utah, next week. The Vandals (1-9, 1-3 entering play Saturday) will be heavy underdogs to knock off Utah State, which has won 14 of its past 17 games and its last 10 WAC games.

If the Vandals can stun the Aggies, SJSU could still earn a share of the last WAC title by beating La Tech. With five of its seven teams set to join new conferences next season, this is the last year of WAC football.

This is the first WAC title in school history for Utah State and its first nine-win season since 1961. The Aggies are likely headed to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho on Dec. 15. That bowl has the only WAC tie-in and would likely choose Utah State even if SJSU captured a share of the title because of the proximity of Boise to Logan, which is less than a five-hour drive away.

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Utah State looked to be cruising to a victory over La Tech, taking a 41-17 lead in the third quarter. But the Bulldogs stormed back to get within three points and go the ball with a minute and a half to go. La Tech drove down and kicked a game-tying field goal in the final seconds of the game to force overtime.

Utah State opened overtime with a touchdown, then made a stop on fourth down when the Bulldogs got the ball to secure the win.